.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (KAZINFORM), April 15, 2008:

The centenarian, who lives on Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula, has a solid support network of friends and family, which includes a son in his eighties who visits her every morning on his bicycle.

Her age and sociability are no coincidence, said Dan Buettner, an explorer and book author who has studied Panchita and other elderly Costa Ricans.

"We know that people who make it to a hundred tend to be nice," he said. "They drink from the fountain of life by being likeable and drawing people to them."

Buettner has explored and studied the world's centenarian hot spots—which he calls blue zones—over the past several years.

The findings appear in a new book, The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest.

After scouring the globe, Buettner has found several basic threads that connect the longest-lived: a plant-based diet; regular, low-intensity activity; an investment in family; a sense of faith; and purpose.

Blue Zones

Nowhere is a strong sense of purpose more acute, he said, than in Japan, where the concept has its own name: ikigai.

Okinawa, Japan, boasts the longest-lived women in the world and has the longest disability-free life expectancy in the world.

"You see it over and over again: People who are living a long time have a reason to get up in the morning," Buettner said.

The other hot spots include Sardinia in Italy, which has the highest concentration of centenarians—most of which are men—and the Seventh Day Adventists of Loma Linda in California. An Adventist man lives 11 years longer than the average American male.

Abuela Panchita's hometown also makes it onto the list. Nicoya Peninsula has the lowest middle-age mortality in the world, Buettner said.

"A 60-year-old in Costa Rica has more than a fourfold better chance of making it to 90 than a 60-year-old in America," he said.

"They spend one-fifteenth the amount we do on public health, but they spend it in the right places."

This statistic factors out infant mortality, which can skew life expectancy numbers downward.

Small Genetic Impact

Robert Kane directs the University of Minnesota Center on Aging and the Minnesota Geriatric Education Center in Minneapolis.

"If indeed one can identify characteristics which reliably distinguish centenarians from other people, then we might get some clues into what is involved in achieving a longer life expectancy," Kane said.

"What [Buettner's] done is to identify clusters of people who live to old ages and describe some of the phenomena that are associated with those people."

Studies indicate that the genetic component of aging is relatively small, varying between 6 and 25 percent. How we can influence the remaining percentage of our longevity is still not completely clear.

To Buettner, what is clear is that people can take control of improving their longevity.

"Set up your life, your home environment, your social environment, and your workplace so that you're constantly nudged into behaviors that favor longevity," he said.

Habits of the Long-Lived

For example, many centenarians eat less and avoid meat.

"You look in the blue zone in Okinawa, these people are consistently eating off of small plates," Buettner said.

One of the cues for fullness is an empty plate, so stock your cupboard with smaller plates, Buettner advised.

Investing in family and faith also apparently keeps centenarians going.

"The research is really quite overwhelming in showing the longevity and health benefits in reconnecting with your religion … and investing in your family," he said, Kazinform quotes National Geographic News.

S. Jay Olshansky is a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"Dan is trying to encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles and that in and of itself is the greatest value," Olshansky said.

But he cautioned that no matter how attractive the prospect, there is no secret to the fountain of youth.

"It has been very tempting for many people in this area to try and sell longevity, which is a commodity that cannot yet be bought or sold," Olshansky said.

More Blue Zones?

Buettner's work on sussing out blue zones is ongoing. There may be one in Canada, Buettner said. If confirmed, this blue zone probably has the lowest middle-age mortality in the world—beating out even the Nicoya Peninsula.

But in the United States, the life expectancy is 77.8 years—a figure that might actually drop in coming decades due to the impact of obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "As rich as we are as a nation, we don't do a great job," Buettner said.

Copyright © Kazinform National Company OJSC,2008

NEW DELHI (Mid-Day), April 15, 2008:

Shocking statistics reveal that more men are falling prey to dowry laws and domestic violence than women. Dowry law is being grossly misused to frame husbands in false cases, reports Anshuman G. Dutta.

First the statistics - according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2005-06, altogether 52,483 married men committed suicide while the figure for women stood at 28,188.

Similarly, 1,918 separated men ended their life against a total of 1,223 women in the same year. It is clear, husbands are getting affected by the dowry laws, which are subjected to being misused by wives and her family members.

Men more prone

As per a survey conducted by Save Family Foundation - an NGO working for equal rights for men - Delhi registered maximum cases of domestic violence against men.

"It is wrong to say that only women fell target to domestic violence. If the official figures are to be believed it's the men who need more protection under Domestic Violence Act," said Swaroop Sarkar, coordinator, Save Family Foundation.

The survey, which covered all the 28 states and union territories, discovered that maximum cases of domestic violence against men are under the category of economic violence.

"In most of the cases the husbands are tortured economically (32.79 percent) by the wives or her family members. Surprisingly it is followed by physical violence against men (25.21 percent) and we always thought that fairer sex was more prone to violence in their homes," said Sarkar.

Educated class

Interestingly, maximum cases of men being harassed in their homes came from people in medical and engineering professions followed by marketing and media. "These are among the most valued professions in the country but if these people can be victimised under domestic violence one can think about the plight of the men in other professions," he said.

More false cases

Meanwhile another report published by the NCRB says that in 2006 a total 1,61,217 men were booked under section 498 (dowry harassment) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). But surprisingly, the numbers of convictions were only 16, 995 while the courts found 61, 297 people innocent. "The number of false dowry cases against men are increasing with time. Section 498 is like a tool against men and the less number of convictions proves that it is being heavily misused," said a senior lawyer from the Delhi high court.

Legal view

Even though the figures prove that men are also falling pray to domestic violence, the Delhi High Court in one of its recent judgements said, "We do not rule out the possibility of men becoming the victim of domestic violence, but such cases would be few and far between, thus not requiring or justifying the protection of parliament." Meanwhile the court also increased the ambit of the law to include mistresses and women in live-in relationships.

Biased

"Our laws are biased and favours women. Moreover the monetary compensation in cases of dowry harassment is the prime reason that more number of false complaints are being registered," said Sarkar. He further that just like other laws, dowry offenders should also get physical punishment and the monetary provision of regular maintenance fee should be waived off to stop it from being misused.

© 2008 MiD-Day Multimedia Ltd.

Brigitte Bardot Francois Lenoir.

PARIS (Reuters),
April 15, 2008:

French former film star Brigitte Bardot went on trial on Tuesday for insulting Muslims, the fifth time she has faced the charge of "inciting racial hatred" over her controversial remarks about Islam and its followers.

Prosecutors asked that the Paris court hand the 73-year-old former sex symbol a two-month suspended prison sentence and fine her 15,000 euros (12,071 pounds) for saying the Muslim community was "destroying our country and imposing its acts".

Since retiring from the film industry in the 1970s, Bardot has become a prominent animal rights activist but she has also courted controversy by denouncing Muslim traditions and immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.

She has been fined four times for inciting racial hatred since 1997, at first 1,500 euros and most recently 5,000.

Prosecutor Anne de Fontette told the court she was seeking a tougher sentence than usual, adding: "I am a little tired of prosecuting Mrs Bardot."

Bardot did not attend the trial because she said she was physically unable to. The verdict is expected in several weeks.

French anti-racist groups complained last year about comments Bardot made about the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in a letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy that was later published by her foundation.

Muslims traditionally mark Eid al-Adha by slaughtering a sheep or another animal to commemorate the prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's orders.

France is home to 5 million Muslims, Europe's largest Muslim community, making up 8 percent of France's population.

"I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts," the star of 'And God created woman' and 'Contempt' said.

Bardot has previously said France is being invaded by sheep-slaughtering Muslims and published a book attacking gays, immigrants and the unemployed, in which she also lamented the "Islamisation of France".

(Reporting by Thierry Leveque; writing by Francois Murphy, editing by Mary Gabriel)

© Thomson Reuters 2008

WHANGAREI, New Zealand (The Northern Advocate), April 15, 2008:

By Annette Lambly

SEVEN years ago Trevor Brljevich restarted his mother-in law's heart after she had arrested from a heart attack. The then 92-year-old now looks forward to celebrating her 100th birthday this January, thanks to Trevor's expertise and the wonders of a defibrillator, an electronic device that shocks the heart.

The man with more than 51 years experience on the frontline of the Maungaturoto St John Volunteer Ambulance Division describes the event as the most satisfying in his career. Not surprisingly, he has many `most' moments, including the time he `lost' the ambulance.

Trevor Brljevich with his golden laurel. Picture/Annette Lambly

It was fifty-three years ago that 24-year-old Trevor Brljevich pedalled his bike 20 kms after milking to attend the weekly meetings of the fledgling St John Volunteer Brigade.

His dedication to the service has never wavered and while retiring last September from frontline duty he remains on the books as the training officer, and the only foundation member still in service at the station. Last month he received a golden laurel to his gold bars and chevron.

In 1955 Trevor was one of 13 locals who felt the need to form a St John Volunteer Ambulance Division at Maungaturoto. An ambulance from either Whangarei or Dargaville in those days was a crucial hour's distance from Otamatea. Assisted by the driving force of Jack Conway, who had been involved with the organisation in Auckland since 1944, they set up what was basically a first aid division with the intention of obtaining their own ambulance.

For two years the volunteers wearing dyed ex-airforce uniforms, which they had paid for themselves, attended all local sports and public events around Otamatea.

Finally, after much fundraising by the Maungaturoto community, a Ford ambulance, costing 4000, was bought in 1957. Due to a lack of an official station, it was housed at the Central Garage.

On February 16, 1957 Trevor took the new ambulance to his first road accident at Kaiwaka.

"Oddly, it was exciting. I remember the patient well and she made a good recovery," but his smile slumps a little as he recalls the others over the years who didn't. "It's the children that get to you the most," he says.

Trevor quickly rose through the ranks to become a sergeant (1956), divisional officer (1970) and division superintendent from 1980 to 1993.

Described by his colleagues as `battery charged Trevor,' St John was to become a very big part of his and his family's life.

He says the family, in particular his late wife Yvonne, had to pick up wherever he left off. "Many the times she had to milk by herself while coping with the children," he said. "Without her, (and them) I couldn't have done it."

In the days well before pagers, the phone was the vital link. Yvonne would dutifully stand in the backyard waving a tea towel to attract Trevor' attention or furiously bang a pot loud enough that he could hear it out on the farm.

On February 2, 1963 Trevor attended New Zealand's worst bus accident when 15 people were killed and 21 injured. The bus carrying people returning for Waitangi Day celebrations crashed at the Brynderwyns.

"The site looked like a war zone. We set up tents and used a road service bus to transport walking and less seriously injured patients - many on stretchers - to hospital," he said.

Modest about his contribution to the service he is nevertheless proud of serving the community he knows and loves. He is pleased he was able to help the sick and injured, thankful of the support of a dedicated area committee and appreciative of the back-up of a modern day helicopter service and trained advanced paramedics.

Time spent with fellow ambulance officers on the way home from call outs remain memorable while worrying over elderly patients who say they are fine, when they were far from it, is embedded in his memory.

"People tend to think the ambulance is primarily for accidents but in fact two thirds of our patients are for medical reasons," he said.

But like everybody, Trevor has had that one major slip up. Twenty years later his face still colours beet when he remembers the day he `lost the ambulance.' You might say it became known locally as the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

One cold and frosty morning after delivering an elderly patient to hospital a fellow officer called out she was unable to remove the cap from a filled hot water bottle. Clambering out of the `bus', Trevor slammed the door behind to go to her assistance.

On turning around they pair were bewildered to find the ambulance had disappeared.

Investigating they found the vehicle, which usually took two people to push start it from the station, had rolled across the road, through a fence and careered happily down the cattle tracks to the bottom of a steep hill. Remarkably, it was still on its wheels and with only a few scratches otherwise unscathed.

The service which averaged around three calls outs per week in 1957 now averages close to that on a daily basis. The importance that volunteers like Trevor provide to communities can never be underestimated.

Retired from farming 14 years ago, Trevor began growing and breeding Zanterdeschia (calla lilies). Never doing anything half heartedly, Trevor has been recognised internationally with the Dix Penning award for his contribution to the Zantedeschia industry. Of only 14 awards, including three outside the Netherlands, he is the only New Zealander to have ever received the award.

At 78, he continues to breed the flowers for interest, admitting his favourite to be a pure lemon yellow with no name - and laughingly acknowledges his biggest rival is his granddaughter Jaimie.

© APN News & Media Ltd 2007.

CALABASAS, California (RiskTutor), April 15, 2008:

David Solie, MS, PA writes:

Below you will find a recent blog I wrote that introduces two new concepts that are resonating with the children of aging parents:

1. Personal Care Coordinator This term describes the role that many of us have with aging parents, especially if we are "long-distance-caregivers."

2. Preferred Choices This term describes a strategy that allows us to set "heart-felt" boundaries that potentially keep us from self-destructing while trying to address the needs of our aging parents.

Needs Overload: Preferred Choices
Here is a question I was asked from a caregiver who is feeling overwhelmed:

How do I respond to my 89 year old father who demands much of my attention and doesn't understand that I have other responsibilities besides him?

He lives in a senior residence five minutes away from us, where he is safe, gets meals, has nursing staff available, and other residents with friendly faces. I am his only living child. Guilt guilt guilt…

Here is what I said:

When older adults give up their primary living environment, they feel out of control. Even if the new facilities and support staff are ideal, they can not eliminate the psychological discomfort of being in a new space creates. For most elderly adults, their primary living environment represents the last area of control they have in a world of mounting losses. It sounds like your father is trying to assert some control as he comes to terms with his new living environment and you have become his primary focus.

While this is a natural response, it can be very taxing on the primary care coordinator (PCC) of the family. Unless you find a way to “rebalance” his expectations, you will exhaust yourself trying to ameliorate his discomfort. For his transition to be successful, you both need “breathing room.”

One way to do this is to offer your father what I call “preferred choices.” Preferred choices is a way to say to aging parents “you matter” but that you are not at liberty to ignore or renege on the other responsibilities in your life. Even though your resources are limited, you will insure that your aging parents retain a priority status in how they are allocated.

The set up for this strategy is straight forward. Despite the day to day demands of trying to get everything done, you are giving him first choice whenever you can regarding visits, appointments, and outings. If you can only come for a single visit on a given day, what time would he prefer? If you only have time Monday and Thursday this week for his next doctor’s appointment, which day would he prefer? This sends a clear signal that he is of central importance in your life and is not being left out. But it also sends a signal that there will be times when you can’t drop everything and take care of his needs.

This is not say that your father will be thrilled with the “preferred choice” system. But it will reset his expectations and give him clear choices as to when he gets your attention. Without these boundaries, he will not be motivated to seek out other sources of support and attention in his new environment.

Like you, he needs a new structure to re-balance his over dependency on one person to meet his needs.

Click here to go to the blog

WASHINGTON (Reuters), April 15, 2008:

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

Misleading research is often published in major medical journals and doctors are lending their names to it, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said on Tuesday.

Doctors, regulators, publishers and others are all taking money, information and small presents from pharmaceutical companies and being influenced in the process, said Dr. Catherine DeAngelis.

"It goes for all of us," DeAngelis, whose journal is influential nationally and globally, said in a telephone interview.

Her journal, commonly known as JAMA, published a paper accusing Merck and Co. of suppressing data that showed its now-withdrawn pain drug Vioxx was harming patients, and saying that academic researchers had lent credibility to the company's allegedly manipulated research by putting their names on the work.

Merck and the independent researchers have denied this and say the journal is mistaken in this case.

But DeAngelis said there is a "gigantic" problem of drug companies influencing doctors and patients. Her journal presents the Merck case as a specific example of one facet of the problem.

"We have given away our profession and we have got to take it back," she said.

Drug companies spend millions of dollars on promotional materials, from pens to prescription pads. They pay for doctors to travel to seminars, often in exotic places, to learn about drugs.

They set up elaborate booths at medical meetings and send articulate drug representatives and "detailers" to pay personal visits to doctors.

CAREFUL WATCHDOGS

"Physicians in private practice shouldn't even take a pen from anybody, let alone pizza lunches or whatever," DeAngelis said.

In addition, the companies fund many medical studies. Government funds are usually only used for the first stages of research -- the rest is left to companies who conduct studies to seek licensing for various drugs. DeAngelis said there is no way around this.

But, she added, "The editors (of medical journals) have to be very, very careful watchdogs over what we publish."

The influence does not usually amount to outright bribery, DeAngelis added. "We just have to be more careful, all of us, and insist that we are not going to be hoodwinked by them, fooled by them," she said.

"The physician should learn from other physicians, not from some detail person," DeAngelis said.

The Consumers Union agreed.

"Pharmaceutical companies need to get out of the business of 'ghostwriting' articles for medical journals," Dr. John Santa, a medical consultant to Consumers Union, said in a statement.

One of the studies in the journal shows that Merck researchers mostly wrote one of the studies alleged to have shown the higher risk of deaths but later added the names of Alzheimer's experts Dr. Leon Thal of the University of California, San Diego, and Steven Ferris of New York University.

Ferris denies his name was simply pasted onto the study and said he was involved in both the research and in writing the article. "I am livid about it," he said in a telephone interview.

Thal died in a plane crash in 2007 but was a prominent Alzheimer's expert who would have been able to catch any errant data showing a risk of deaths or stroke, Ferris added.

"We did participate in the study and we did participate in the process of producing the final manuscript," Ferris said.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
© Thomson Reuters 2008

HONG KONG (The Standard), April 15, 2008:

Damon Pang

A dozen flight attendants from four airlines staged a 30-minute sit-in protest at the airport yesterday demanding their airlines extend the retirement age from 45 to 65.

Representatives from Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, British Airways and United Airlines said attendants at the first three airlines are facing age discrimination since the airlines' pilots and ground staff are allowed to work until the age of 65.

United Airlines does not have an age limit for flight attendants.

Chanting slogans and holding signs in the departure hall, the attendants demanded fairness with regard to retirement.

Hong Kong Flight Attendants Association spokeswoman Becky Kwan Siu-wah, who is also the chairwoman of Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants' Union, said almost 10,000 flight attendants are affected by the retire-at- 45 policy.

"It is unfair because, in Europe and the United States, there are flight attendants working until 84. There is also racial discrimination in Japan Airlines as its Japanese flight attendants can work until 65 yet its Hong Kong employees have an age limit of 35," she said.

One of the protesters, Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants' Union secretary Vera Wu Yee-mei, said 45 was too young for a retirement age, given that the life expectancy for women in Hong Kong is 89.

"What should we do with the second half of our lives?

"Moreover, experience actually helps with our work as flight attendants as safety is more important than the public perception of flight attendants being pretty," she said.

Confederation of Trade Unions lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, who was at the protest, urged the government to legislate against age discrimination in the workplace.

A Cathay Pacific spokeswoman said the airline has been actively engaging the union and members of the crew community to discuss subjects of common interest, including retirement age.

"All staff were fully informed of the employment conditions, including the retirement age, when they accepted the company's employment," she said.

The spokeswoman maintained the extension of retirement age is a complex issue which has a significant impact on promotion prospects, pay and benefits, and is a decision that requires careful consideration.

A Dragonair spokesman said the retirement age for its cabin crew is broadly in line with that of its competitors.

"It is not uncommon for companies to adopt different retirement ages for different staff groups and different countries in accordance with the job nature and environment," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Equal Opportunities Commission said it is against discrimination on any grounds.

Copyright 2005, The Standard Newspaper Publishing Ltd

People beating the heat at the Kathojodi river bank

By Neel Kusum

KATAK, Orissa (Odisha Today),
April 15, 2008:

The scorching summer is back with its gust of hot spell all around. It’s a sweltering summer for the Katakis with scarcity of water, regular power cuts and of course illness is sure to be accompanied with it.

The customary scenario one may find to see in Katak during summer are people gathered in parks or public places enjoying the cool breeze of evening while the young generation speeding up for long drives, chatting with their friends or attending summer courses and well the kids struggling with their homework.

However the most arresting picture is the never-ending row of old people sitting upon the boundary wall of the riverbank Mahanadi and Kathajodi Rivers, till late night when they retire home for dinner.

Katak’s beautiful old people have found an interesting way to beat the heat away. Usually summer is thought of as a time to relax at home or travel, while here these old people love to gather near the river side and breathe the cool breeze.

For many of them most important is meeting with their age-group friends and sharing their emotions. They feel nostalgic about the overwhelming days they had spent.

Such kind of recreation help the older people create a social circle of their own including friends, colleagues, relatives or neighbours. They sit out and socialize with them. It eases the flow of ideas and share their fears amongst the people of their own age. Communicating with others eases any kind of situation. In this way they feel happy, mentally satisfied living a healthier life.

During summer older people are at risk of health problems or heart conditions. Older people need to stay in cool and comfortable conditions in the hot weather. And best if the cool breeze near a riverbank act as a natural AC for them. It improves their health and fitness. .

You may find lot of activities carried out near a riverside. The areas of interests include evening stroll, chatting, fishing, swimming, water sports and many others according to one’s choice.

Katak, once upon a time (Cuttack) preserved lush green parks and gardens. People used to visit these parks or open areas for a morning walk, exercises, entertainment or an evening stroll.

Starting from a toddler to older people all visited such places for entertainment, relaxation, stroll or exercises. But the deadly creatures of Development and Industrialisation are killing these green areas, further adding pollution in the environment. At the same time, the river water is also getting polluted slowly. So, where will one find space for relaxation?

Photo: WFP
The challenges of old age are stress, isolation, diseases and depression. Yet few of them implement different innovative art of living style, which makes it possible for them to confidently chalk out a plan for everyday life. Thanks to the blue waters of Mahanadi and Kathajodi which is finding way as a place of entertainment during summer.

© 2008 Odishatoday.com

CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu (The Hindu), April 15, 2008:

Senior citizens in Madurai, Tamil Nadu (India), who wait in long queues for disbursal of pension will now be able to get instant pension. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) of Madurai has developed a software for 'computer mustering' that will facilitate instant identification of the pensioner and disbursal of pension.

The new software would enable storing of scanned image of pensioners and provide for verification with the entry of Pension Pay Order (PPO) number. Online mustering will help in speedy disbursal of pension. Pension books will be returned to the pensioners immediately.

So far, NIC has digitised 26,546 photographs of pensioners maintained in 1,200 audit volumes. Citizens can approach any of the 25 users such as Treasury Officer, Additional Treasury Officer and others.

As per usual practice, identification of pensioners would be done manually by verifying registers. The process would take hours as the district handled 26,546 pensioners through different treasury offices.

Source: The Hindu

All finalists were very comfortable with themselves: Judge

SINGAPORE (Today), April 15, 2008:

ASK Ms Zaibun Siraj, 61 — named one of Singapore’s happiest people — what makes her most happy and she tells you readily: Making others happy.

SMILING TO THE TOP: The four happiest people in Singapore are (clockwise from top left) Ms Zaibun Siraj, Mr Andy Goh, Ms Stella Fernandez and Mr Ng Chai Lee. Don Wong

In fact, Ms Zaibun is spreading her recipe for joy with her book: Zany, Zeal, Zest and Zing: The Z way to happiness, which was launched early this month.

Shortlisted in the Global Leadership Academy’s search for the happiest Singaporean, Ms Zaibun, a training consultant in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, is among the 207 contestants who were nominated by their family, friends and even strangers.

“It’s the little things in life, such as taking a walk, giving a gift and being with friends, that brings happiness,” says Ms Zaibun, who is a great believer in writing cards to thank and compliment people and doing volunteer work.

Ms Zaibun, who was the president for the Association of Women for Action and Research from 1996 to 1998, is a member in the National Youth Achievement Award Council.

One of the judges, Mr John Bittleston, author and business mentor, said that a common denominator he found in all the shortlisted finalists was that they were all comfortable with themselves.

The other finalists are Mr Ng Chai Lee, 61, a record keeper at the Marine Parade polyclinic; Ms Stella Fernandez, 43, a patient transport assistant in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital; and Mr Andy Goh, 35, a manager. Mr Ng, who is also the treasurer in the McPherson Residential Committee where he has served for over 30 years, was nominated by his colleague, Ms Lilian Quek, a staff nurse at his polyclinic.

“He is the happiest man I have come across in my 38 years of work in various multinational companies, hospitals and health clinics,” said Ms Quek, 56. “Even when he is on annual leave, his name gets mentioned by colleagues almost every day.”

Singapore’s Happiest Person will be announced on Thursday at The New Science of Happiness and Well-being Conference which starts tomorrow at the Singapore Expo and Convention Centre.

JINNY KOH
Copyright ©2005 MediaCorp Press Ltd
__________________________________________

Seniors World Chronicle adds

ZANY, ZEAL, ZEST AND ZING
The Z Way to Happiness

by Zaibun (Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore)

Written in a pragmatic, yet inspirational style, this book provides relevant and useful information on happiness. It includes a brief history of happiness and motivates readers to apply strategies related to happiness in their day-to-day life. It also discusses the benefits of being happy and the consequences of being unhappy. The strategies are listed under the headings — Zany, Zeal, Zest and Zing. Each chapter is unique and will be of great interest to readers.

Contents:
Happiness is a Serious Matter
What is Happiness?
Be Zany
Apply Zeal
Have Zest
Put Zing into Your Life

116pp
Pub. date: Mar 2008
ISBN 978-981-279-350-8(pbk)
981-279-350-X(pbk)
US$22 / £12

.
MUMBAI / The Economic Times / April 15, 2008

State-owned general insurance companies have begun responding to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDA) diktat on capping the increase on health insurance rates for senior citizens. But senior citizens are complaining that there are too many conditions and that the rollback has come too late.

On the face of it, the rate cut is substantial. A senior citizen who had seen his bill for Rs 500,000 of insurance rise from Rs 12,636 to pay Rs 31,590 in 2007, will not see the premium being rolled back to Rs 22,113. However, this cap will be available only if the senior citizen had held a policy continuously for three years and did not make any claims during these three years. Also, the lower rates are available to only those who were senior citizens on September 2006. These conditions could mean that several senior citizens will continue to find mediclaim unaffordable.

Last month, the regulator had issued a circular to all state-owned general insurance companies asking them to ensure that no senior citizen has to pay more than 150-175% of the premium they paid in the previous year. The direction followed complaints over the exorbitant rates charged by non-life insurance companies. Oriental Insurance has already issued a circular on March 24, rolling back 2007’s rate hike.

Industry sources say that a decision on the rollback has been taken by the General Insurers (Public Sector) Association (GIPSA) and that the three other companies would follow suit. Incidentally, M Ramadoss is the chairman of GIPSA.

However, senior citizens are unhappy over the delay. “Most insurance policies are purchased before April, as buyers want to take advantage of tax breaks and also insurance companies push sales aggressively to achieve their targets,” said KS (Kaka) Samant, general secretary at the general insurance pensioners’ association.

Another senior citizen Basudeo Gaggar has complained to IRDA that despite being a controlling authority, its direction has been more like requests to the insurance companies. The other disadvantage for senior citizens who have already paid the higher premium is that they cannot cancel their policies to take advantage of the lower rates. The circular from Oriental Insurance clearly states that no cancellation of current policies to take advantage of the revised rates is permitted.

Copyright © 2008 Times Internet Limited.

LONDON, England (ArthritisCare), April 14, 2008:

Time to take your life back –that's Arthritis Care’s message to the 7.8 million people in the UK who live with chronic day-to-day pain this Arthritis Awareness Week (April 12 - 18).

Arthritis is the UK’s biggest single cause of physical disability, affecting around nine million people of all ages, including 12,000 children. Around half of those living with long-term pain end up losing their jobs, and Arthritis can cause insomnia, exhaustion, depression. It also often destroys mental concentration, makes it difficult to move around, takes its toll on social, family and work life, and ultimately may even lead to reduced income, poverty and isolation.

“Pain is sometimes called 'the silent epidemic'. It's the main reason why people visit their GP – and arthritis is its most frequent cause,” says Rachel Gondwe, Arthritis Care’s head of training. “With pain being the number one reason why people call the Arthritis Care helplines, we decided to create a specific 'Challenging Pain' workshop. It addresses a wide variety of long-term conditions, equipping anyone experiencing pain with skills and techniques to combat their symptoms.”

Arthritis Care pioneered American style self-management training in the UK during the 1990s, and Challenging Pain was developed from its successful Challenging Arthritis course.

“Anyone can sign up for Challenging Pain. It’s available across the UK and is totally free to participants,” explained Gondwe.

“Employers can run it in the workplace for workers, or primary care trusts commission it for patients. The course was developed and piloted in collaboration with pain management specialists, and it's designed to complement not replace the care people receive from their health professionals.”

Mrs Erilys Smith did the course in Cornwall in September 2007.

“I was feeling very down,” she says. “I've been active all my life, but the pain from osteoarthritis in my knee was preventing me walking far, and from doing my usual activities, and this had resulted in my putting on weight."

Smith says the course allowed her to talk to others who were in the same boat, and helped her learn to manage her negativity, deal with stress and prevent tiredness.

“The exercises were not too strenuous, and I could do many sitting in a chair watching television,” she added. “I found that my whole body was feeling better - my health and well being had improved.”

New Arthritis Coping Course Launched
14/04/2008
Time to take your life back –that's Arthritis Care’s message to the 7.8 million people in the UK who live with chronic day-to-day pain this Arthritis Awareness Week (12th – 18th April).

Arthritis is the UK’s biggest single cause of physical disability, affecting around nine million people of all ages, including 12,000 children. Around half of those living with long-term pain end up losing their jobs, and Arthritis can cause insomnia, exhaustion, depression. It also often destroys mental concentration, makes it difficult to move around, takes its toll on social, family and work life, and ultimately may even lead to reduced income, poverty and isolation.

“Pain is sometimes called 'the silent epidemic'. It's the main reason why people visit their GP – and arthritis is its most frequent cause,” says Rachel Gondwe, Arthritis Care’s head of training. “With pain being the number one reason why people call the Arthritis Care helplines, we decided to create a specific 'Challenging Pain' workshop. It addresses a wide variety of long-term conditions, equipping anyone experiencing pain with skills and techniques to combat their symptoms.”

Arthritis Care pioneered American style self-management training in the UK during the 1990s, and Challenging Pain was developed from its successful Challenging Arthritis course.

“Anyone can sign up for Challenging Pain. It’s available across the UK and is totally free to participants,” explained Gondwe. “Employers can run it in the workplace for workers, or primary care trusts commission it for patients. The course was developed and piloted in collaboration with pain management specialists, and it's designed to complement not replace the care people receive from their health professionals.”

Mrs Erilys Smith did the course in Cornwall in September 2007.

“I was feeling very down,” she says. “I've been active all my life, but the pain from osteoarthritis in my knee was preventing me walking far, and from doing my usual activities, and this had resulted in my putting on weight."

Smith says the course allowed her to talk to others who were in the same boat, and helped her learn to manage her negativity, deal with stress and prevent tiredness.

“The exercises were not too strenuous, and I could do many sitting in a chair watching television,” she added. “I found that my whole body was feeling better - my health and well being had improved.”

Visit www.arthritiscare.org.uk

Lack of training initiatives upsets queer elderly community in Vancouver

By Doerthe Keilholz and Lucy Gotell

VANCOUVER (The Thunderbird), April 14, 2008:

Last year, Jeanette Piry lost the love of her life.

She met Grace in 1956 in Hong Kong, when it was still a British colony. In the early 1970’s, the couple moved to Canada, fearing that the eventual return of Chinese rule would result in riots.

After 50 happy years together, Grace became so ill that the only option was to sell her house and move into residential care.

Grace was given a bed at Arbutus Care Centre in Vancouver. Although she received proper medical attention, the couple often felt that staff and residents were uncomfortable dealing with an openly lesbian couple.

“I mean, just to be near her and talk and be close like other couples can…they were not used to [seeing] people of the same sex sitting there. I was there the whole day, sitting and [holding] hands,” says Jeanette.

Although they did not experience any overt discrimination, Jeanette says, the staff at Arbutus had not received any sensitivity training around caring for lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual (LGTB) patients.

The fear of having to “come out” all over again when placed in residential care or when receiving in-home care is just one obstacle faced by LGTB elders when relying on a health care system designed for heterosexuals.

Growing needs
According to a study done by McGill University’s School of Social Work in 2006, a lack of funding, policy and training on issues of sexual orientation and identity within the health care system leads to a sense of isolation and invisibility among LGTB seniors. In turn, these seniors may avoid revealing their identities, voicing concerns and using available services in a “system that is unprepared to address their unique needs and realities,” states the report.

Health care workers discouraged Christine Waymark from coming out
The problem of addressing LGTB seniors’ health care needs will grow in coming years, as the elderly population in general will begin to accelerate in 2011 when the first baby boomers turn 65. This is especially relevant in British Columbia, as it houses the largest homosexual and bisexual population in Western Canada, according to Statistics Canada.

For LGTB seniors, this means finding a “safe” place within residential care might become even more difficult than it already is.

Chris Morrissey works for The Centre, a non-profit organization for Vancouver’s lesbian, gay, trans- and bisexual community. She says care facilities can’t legally turn anyone away based on sexual orientation but that only three of the 28 residential care facilities in Vancouver have a good reputation among the LGTB community.

“Can someone easily go into a residential care facility and feel comfortable…with all of who they are? I’d say no,” Morrissey says.

Morrissey has long been trying to break the barriers faced by LGTB people, partly by offering sensitivity training to hospitals, residential care facilities and nursing schools in Vancouver. This involves making health care providers aware of LGTB peoples’ unique backgrounds, integrating health care scenarios involving LGTB seniors into nurses’ education, and giving voice to queer culture within residential care facilities.

Health care workers discouraged Christine Waymark from coming out

“ If I have to be in that kind of care and I think of having to, for instance, have access to only heterosexual music, TV, magazines, that kind of stuff, I’d go crazy!,” says Christine Waymark, a lesbian senior living with her spouse in Vancouver. “I mean, I might like something like – I’m old - Nat King Cole singing a love song, but I much prefer Cris Williamson. That’s what feeds me, is to hear Cris singing about what goes on with her and her lover.”

Health care training
The 67 year old and her partner, Robin, receive in-home care at their home in Kitsilano. When Waymark decided years ago to be open about her sexual orientation, the reaction she received wasn’t overly positive.

“At one point I insisted that they put on my file that I was lesbian, and at one point I had a health care worker come and say, ‘well you don’t want that on your file.’ and I said, ‘why not?’ [She said], ‘well, you don’t want people to know you are lesbian.’

Waymark says although she feels sensitivity training is one step towards making the system more open to LGTB seniors, there is much more that needs to be done.

While Morrissey provides training to a select number of health care facilities in Vancouver, she says the system at large needs to recognize issues of sexual orientation as something that diversifies health care needs. LGTB issues, she says, should be integrated into the training of health care staff and should receive the same attention given to First Nations people or immigrants in terms of health.

“How do you get it institutionalized so that it is an automatic part of the process?” Morrissey says. “We’re still knocking on doors for that, I think, unfortunately.”

As of now, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) has not made LGTB training a requirement, says Linda Rose, director of residential housing for VCH. The initiative is left up to individual facilities.

Dean Malone plans to open a retirement home for queer seniors
VCH also does not offer any programs or facilities aimed at the elderly LGTB community, although they do provide funding for community-based facilities like The Centre.

Elizabeth Stanger is the regional coordinator for diversity issues at VCH. She has been working with Morrissey in developing what she calls “LGTB 101,” an introductory course on LGTB health care issues. She hopes that, in time, this will be offered regularly through “staff education opportunities.” A pilot course is being offered to Richmond hospital staff next month.

Stanger says she was also involved in a series of focus groups two years ago funded by the Rainbow Health Coalition, a national organization dedicated to LGTB health and wellness issues. The focus groups involved healthcare employees who identified as LGTB and resulted in a curriculum for LGTB health care. However, the curriculum was never put into action, as the health authorities did not have the necessary funding.

“When cuts happen those are the kind of things that tend to always fall of the table,” Stanger says.

Because of the need for LGTB-friendly health care, some private business owners are trying to fill the gap by creating facilities where diversity is celebrated.

Options for LGTB
Dean Malone and his partner Darren Stoltz provide LGTB-focused, in-home health care in Vancouver. They plan to partner with Rainbow Vision, a company out of Santa Fe, NM, to open a retirement home marketed towards the aging LGTB community.

They’ve had over 17,000 inquiries from people all over North America who are interested in buying one of the condos since they launched their plans in February.

“There has not been anything in Canada specifically for our community,” Malone says. “The baby boomer population specifically is growing in numbers in the mainstream and so, of course, in the gay and lesbian community they’re growing as well. And so people are looking for options.”

The facility will offer its residents five-star dining, a spa and fitness centre, and home health care services.

While this might be an option for LGTB people who can afford to buy a condo in downtown Vancouver, most still rely on public health care. This is especially true for those who are unable to care for themselves, like Jeanette’s partner, Grace.

During their last few months together, Jeanette managed to have Grace transferred to Royal Arch, one of the few facilities that have made a conscious effort to educate staff and residents about LGTB issues.

Mary Yates, the director of social services at Royal Arch, took it upon herself to update the facility’s mission statement when she began working there in 2000. The new statement explicitly addresses the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also states that each patient has the right to define who their family is.

“It’s not for us to define who the resident’s…partner or family is. That’s up to them and I think we were trying to move away from the biased expectation that every family is a nuclear family,” says Yates.

She believes that other residential care facilities should have sensitivity training similar to what was implemented at Royal Arch.

For Jeanette and Grace, Royal Arch gave them the freedom to spend their last few months together focusing on what really matters: the life they’d spent together. Because, from Jeanette’s perspective, when it comes down to it “It’s just a question of who you love, right?”

By Doerthe Keilholz
Copyright © 2007 TheThunderbird.ca

"Caring for Your Parents" missed a golden opportunity to educate

Liz Taylor
Special to The Seattle Times

SEATTLE (The Seattle Times), April 14, 2008:

I hope most of you missed the PBS special "Caring for Your Parents," sponsored by AARP. It appeared April 2 for two hours in prime time. Chock-full of pathos and bathos, there weren't enough violins in the world to pluck at our heartstrings with more emotion — and it gave few insights.

The first 90 minutes showcased five families struggling to keep parents at home. It examined the "tension between siblings and the complexity of shifting caregiver roles" through an "intimate look" into their lives, according to the news release. The last half-hour was a discussion featuring four experts taped before the program was made.

I lasted through the first hour, then turned it off in disgust. If there's one thing that riles me, it's stereotypes, hysteria and plain wrongheadedness glorified in the name of caring for our parents.

There were so many missed opportunities to educate the audience, to show us better ways of doing this, to get us to think about these things ahead of time so we don't have to be as miserable as the people portrayed.

Tragically, this mistreatment of aging in the media is common. Producers are finally awakening to the fact that more of us are growing older, but they're turning the experience into a soap opera. And they're characterizing aging as a hysterical, inevitable and thankless struggle.

The show depicted families making years of relentless sacrifices on behalf of parents who were extraordinarily frail and disabled. It was as though all of us can and should do likewise. In reality, many of us can't and shouldn't — and we shouldn't be made to feel guilty about it.

Then, as though it made everything OK, a voice would say, "And the state provides a caregiver in the home," without a word about the upsides and downsides of such an arrangement — what it means to the family's sense of privacy, how poor you have to be to get the state to pay and what happens if you're not eligible.

The discussion was locked rigidly into keeping an older person at home, with little mention of other choices or how caring for someone at home can rip families apart. The example that irked me the most was the couple who divorced after the wife struggled for years to care for two very impaired parents back to back. She kept saying how angry it made her, yet there was no discussion of what else the family might have done.

The hour that I watched said nothing about geriatric-care managers, a new profession of experts that can help families make wise decisions when caring for a parent. It said nothing about what all this costs, now or in the future, when almost 80 million boomers reach old age (vs. about 35 million now).

With our horrific federal deficits today and endless demand in the future, how will we make this work? What alternatives do we have, since we're marching steadily in that direction?

I complained to AARP's senior manager of media relations, Michelle Alvarez, who responded: "We thought it was a well-balanced show and have been getting very positive feedback but appreciate yours as well. ... "

Now it's time for somebody to have the courage to give us the truth.

Without the violins and hankies, we need to learn how to take responsibility for our aging, and to plan for it, so we'll have some control over what happens. There are no magic pills to guarantee us good health, so what are our choices when we become ill? How can we make sure we get good quality care? What does good care cost, and how will we cover it? How do we know when it's OK to stay home and when it's time to move?

So many good questions. Too bad the PBS/AARP special did little to provide good answers.

Most of us age accidentally, without planning or forethought. Aging Deliberately tells us how to age on purpose.

Liz Taylor's Web site is www.agingdeliberately.com

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Ervin Meeks is shown seated and his children standing left to right, Ruby Clark, Deacon Frankie Meeks Sr., Esther Togba and Vicky Clinton. Photo courtesy of Vicky Clinton

102nd Birthday!

GASTONIA, North Carolina (Gaston Gazette), April 14, 2008:

Ervin Leon Meeks' 102nd birthday celebration was recently held at Jackson's Cafeteria.

He retired from the city of Gastonia and continued gardening and lawn maintenance until he was 95.

He received several longevity commendations from the Gaston County Board of Commissioners and one from Congresswoman Sue Myrick.

He was married to the late Dora Smith-Meeks for 75 years. They had 12 children; surviving are Ruby Clark, Frankie Meeks Sr., Esther Togba and evangelist Vicky Clinton, seven-year caregiver. He has 33 grandchildren and 60 great-grandchildren. He is the sole survivor of 23 brothers and sisters.

Mr. Meeks still possesses a sharp mind. He attributes his longevity to the grace of God, the love of his family, good home healthcare provided by his daughter, evangelist Vicky Clinton and his doctors, Dr. Francisco Valedon, at CaroMont Internal Medicine and Dr. Todd Cohen, M.D., at Piedmont Urology.

Copyright © 2008 Gaston Gazette

SYDNEY (Australian Ageing Agenda), April 14, 2008:

The Federal Government has appointed veteran actress Noeline Brown the inaugural Ambassador for Ageing.

The Logie Award winner is well known for her appearances in ‘Blankety Blanks’ and The Naked Vicar Show, and recently appeared in the film 'Razzle Dazzle' and the TV series ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

In her new role, Ms Brown will take part in a range of activities and events within the community to promote positive ageing, as well as acting as a spokesperson for older Australians.

Aged Care Association Australia (ACAA) welcomed the announcement, saying it looked forward to working proactively with Ms Brown.

“The appointment fulfilled a long term objective of the Association,” said ACAA CEO Rod Young.

“[It addresses] the need to engage a high profile person to act as the public face of ageing and to be an ambassador for the older citizens in areas such as healthy ageing, retirement incomes, social security benefits, changing the communities attitude towards ageing and aged related issues and long term care services.”

“As Australia ages over the next forty years, with an estimated 26 per cent of all persons being aged 65 years and older by 2042, it is essential that we support a process for constantly reviewing the place, role and function of our older citizens and how the broader community and the ageing community can best interact with each other and ensure that intergenerational costs and services do not fall disproportionately on one sector of the community as compared with another,” said Mr Young.

Ms Brown, who will turn 70 this October, already gives presentations on healthy ageing to clubs and volunteer groups across the nation.

The scope of the Ambassdor’s role will include:

- Promoting internationally-recognised principles of positive and active ageing;
- Promoting messages about healthy and active ageing within the community;
- Leading promotional campaigns to ensure older people are valued and respected;
- Giving voice to the continuing contribution of older people;
- Explaining Government programs and initiatives to the public;
- Encouraging older people to plan for the future;
- Representing the Australian Government at conferences, meetings and media engagements; and
- Attending meetings with key Commonwealth, State and local government stakeholders on positive ageing issues.

The Labor Party pledged it would introduce an Ambassador for Ageing in the lead up to last year’s election.

The Ambassador for Ageing will be supported within the Department of Health and Ageing's Office for an Ageing Australia.

The appointment follows a similar announcement from the Welsh Assembly Government in January this year.

© 2006-08 The Intermedia Group

Volunteer nurse takes the blood pressure of elderly patient. REUTERS/
Jim Bourg

WASHINGTON (Reuters),
April 14, 2008:

The U.S. health care workforce is drastically unprepared for the coming surge in the number of elderly people, and urgent steps are needed to ensure they get the care they will need, experts said on Monday.

An Institute of Medicine report recommended a series of steps to bolster the number and training of health care workers who care for the elderly amid concern they will be swamped as the 78 million baby boomers begin hitting age 65 in 2011.

"The impending crisis, which has been foreseen for decades, is now upon us," an institute panel headed by John Rowe, a professor of health policy and management at Columbia University in New York, wrote in the report.

The committee called on the federal government to require more training for direct-care workers -- nurse's aides, home health aides and personal care aides who do a lot of the hard work in caring for older people.

It urged the Medicare health program for the elderly to raise reimbursement rates for services by geriatric specialists to attract and keep people in geriatric specialties.

And the panel said medical schools and health care training programs should expand course work and training in treating the elderly. It recommended that hospitals embrace training of residents in all settings where the elderly receive care, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

The nonprofit, independent institute provides advice to U.S. policymakers.

Rowe said older people use a disproportionate amount of health care services. Twelve percent of the U.S. population is over age 65, using 26 percent of doctor visits, 35 percent of hospital stays and 34 percent of medicines.

"When they are 20 percent of our population in 2030, they will dominate the health care system," Rowe said.

Doctors who specialize in geriatrics get paid less than other doctors, with the number of certified geriatricians actually dropping in recent years, down to about 7,100 nationwide. Few nurses are trained specifically in geriatrics.

The report detailed higher turnover rates among direct-care workers. For example, up to 90 percent of home health aides -- who help elderly people with ordinary health needs at home -- leave their jobs in the first two years.

The panel urged that the federally required minimum number of hours of training for direct-care workers be raised from 75 to at least 120.

"Health care professionals like nurse's aides and home health aides -- in California and other states -- have lower requirements for training than dog groomers and crossing guards," Rowe said.

States should allocate funds to be added to Medicaid payments that cover many services provided by direct-care workers, according to the committee.

"Recruitment and retention is especially dire among direct-care workers. They receive low wages and few benefits, they have high physical and emotional demands placed on them, and they are at significant risk for on-the-job injuries," according to the report.

By Will Dunham
Editing by Maggie Fox and David Wiessler

© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

OCKELBO, Sweden, (United Press International), April 14, 2008:

An elderly Swede who helped police foil three alleged bank robbers by snapping a photo and attacking one suspect says he only did what needed to be done.

Retired prison employee Valter Tornberg, 78, took action when he crossed paths with three gunmen in front of the Swedbank in Ockelbo, Sweden, The Local reported Monday.

"There had been so many break-ins at the bank and nothing had happened," Tornberg said. "It just came to me to do something."

Tornberg said he was leaving the bank when the three masked men hurried out of car nearby, prompting him to grab his camera and a metal tool out of his car and head toward them.

Before he could snap a photo, a lookout man spotted him and directed a gun at his chest, the report said.

Tornberg took a picture of the man and continued into the bank, where he was threatened with a crowbar, but was eventually able to clunk the gunman in the head with the metal tool he had brought from his car.

Tornberg turned in his photo to police, who later took the three suspects into custody.

© 2008 United Press International

Proposal implemented in Palayamkottai prison first offers access to TV, newspapers, fans

MADURAI (The Hindu), April 14, 2008:

By S. Vijay Kumar

SPECIAL CARE: Senior inmates watching television in the Palayamkottai Central Prison.

Life will change for these life convicts soon. Instead of being locked up in cells from dusk to dawn, senior citizens lodged in prisons across the State will be housed in a centrally located cottage in the prison compound amidst trees, and with the benefit of ventilation and breeze.

For the first time, the concept of the ‘Old Age Home’ is being introduced in Tamil Nadu prisons. The Palayamkottai central prison in Tirunelveli district is the first to move convicts aged over 60 out of dimly-lit, congested cells. A 29-inch colour television, newspapers and fans are part of the cottage-cum-prison. At least 200 elderly convicts lodged in this facility are “very happy” with the extra care. They play indoor games and are entitled for special diet on doctor’s advice, says Jail Superintendent C. Kannan.

According to Additional Director-General of Police (Prisons) A. Subramanian, the facility will soon be extended to other jails in the interest of elderly convicts. “We have plans to emulate the model in all the nine central prisons and three special prisons for women. It is a welfare measure implemented on humanitarian grounds. Besides basic amenities, we are making the environment conducive in the cottage to make their life easy,” he said.

On ‘Elders Day,’ senior citizens get sweets and fruits, besides toiletries. Of the 107 convicts above 75 in various prisons, a majority are serving a life sentence. “They are not keen on an early release. We have only a handful of petitions seeking premature release. They seem to feel comfortable inside…”

The Prison Department has directed Jail Superintendents to provide special care to the elderly.

Periodic health screening is done by jail doctors. These inmates practise yoga and meditation.

“Considering their ripe age, prison should be more a place to repent or reform than to suffer hardships. We are trying to be humane as these aged convicts may spend the rest of their life in jail,” the ADGP said.

Mr. Kannan said the jail had a hall with a 35-mm screen where movies were played for all prisoners every Saturday. “Last week we played the Rajni-starrer Sivaji, which evoked a good response. Many prisoners show interest in watching MGR movies,” he said.

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu.

HEALTH
Federal regulators warn that an array of drugs could play a role in spurring thoughts of suicide or other psychiatric symptoms.

By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES, Ca (Los Angeles Times), April 14, 2008:

As symptoms of depression go, there is none much clearer than having thoughts of suicide.

But a spate of recent announcements from federal health officials suggests a surprising new interpretation of suicidal fantasies and the depression they are thought to signal: Sometimes, sadness, anxiety and self-destructive thoughts are not symptoms but side effects -- of medicine.

In this year alone, federal regulators have warned that a surprising array of drugs could play a role in spurring thoughts of self-destruction. Medicines that treat epilepsy, asthma and influenza are now under suspicion, as is one that helps smokers kick the tobacco habit.

The FDA stresses that it has established no direct causal link between these medications and suicidal thoughts in patients taking them. But in all the cases, regulators acknowledge they had one of two indicators of potential trouble.

In some cases, a review of a drug's early clinical trials turned up increased rates of suicidal thinking among subjects taking the medicine. In others, the tip-off came when the FDA observed an uptick of reports that patients taking a medication for some other condition developed symptoms of depression.

As a result, FDA officials and medical researchers now are scouring their data for clear signs that these drugs increase the risk of dangerous psychiatric symptoms. Moving forward, the agency will require developers of many new drugs to test for psychiatric side effects that could tip the balance between a new medicine's risks and benefits.

"We're trying to develop systematic strategies for looking . . . in a more rigorous way" for links between drugs and unintended psychiatric effects, said Dr. Thomas Laughren, director of the FDA's division of psychiatry products. "The difficulty is that we have such a primitive understanding of human behavior on a biological level . . . it is hard to predict which compounds are going to have psychiatric effects."

FDA warnings

The recent rash of advisories comes just four years after the FDA first suggested a connection. Prompted by reports that suggested children taking antidepressants were more likely, not less, to commit suicide, the agency in 2004 warned that antidepressants might actually increase the risk of suicidal fantasies and behaviors among children. That link is now in doubt, after recent studies showed a rise in youth suicide even as antidepressant use in that population has plummeted.

But the experience of coping with the anguished families of young suicide victims who took antidepressants has had a lasting effect on mental health professionals, researchers and federal regulators. If early-warning systems detect even a hint of psychiatric danger with a medication's use, government officials are inclined to alert first, study later.

"When they see a signal, even if they don't understand the genesis of that signal, that's a reasonable time to warn," said Dr. Robert Ward, a member of the FDA's pediatric advisory committee and professor of pediatric medicine and pharmacology at the University of Utah.

As it moves forward, the FDA hopes to detect such signals -- and warn patients and physicians -- before a drug enters wide use. One of the first drugs that will require testing for psychiatric side effects before it can be FDA-approved in the U.S. is rimonabant, an anti-obesity drug already used in some 20 other countries. After early clinical trials suggested patients taking the drug had increased rates of depression and anxiety, an FDA advisory panel voted last June to recommend a delay in market approval pending further study.

The FDA has asked rimonabant's maker, the French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis, to use a new yardstick to detect and measure suicidal side effects. Scientists have long known that many drugs used to treat symptoms below the neck enter the brain also and that the receptors and chemicals on which they work in organs such as the heart, blood vessels or liver are present in the brain as well, although they may have different functions there. That these drugs might have an incidental effect on mood, then, "shouldn't be terribly surprising," Laughren said.

Abnormal behavior

Still, some of the bizarre reports prompting advisories were wholly unexpected. In Japan, where antiviral medicines such as Tamiflu and Relenza are widely used to shorten the duration and ease the symptoms of influenza, last year's flu season raised serious alarms.

In the span of several months, two 14-year-old patients taking Tamiflu -- a boy and a girl -- fell to their deaths from high-rise apartment buildings in suspected suicides, and two 12-year-olds on the medication were injured after falling from buildings. Delirium, hallucinations and psychotic behavior caused one child taking the drug to bolt into traffic to his death.

In all, an FDA advisory panel was told last November, there have been 25 deaths and 365 cases of abnormal behavior in children and young adults under 21 who took Tamiflu since it was approved for use in 1999. Although regulators underscored that hallucinations and bizarre behavior can be a consequence of the high fevers and brain inflammation that can come with influenza, they acknowledged they could not, without further scrutiny, rule out a link to Tamiflu.

"It came as a surprise to everyone," Ward said. "First the antidepressants raised people's concerns, and then they started to find these unusual suicidal behaviors with Tamiflu. It caused people to ask, 'Whoa, what is happening here?' "

Last month, the FDA notified physicians of the Japanese incidents (while also noting that "the contribution of Tamiflu to these events has not been established") and urged close monitoring of young patients with influenza, who might be taking an antiviral medication. In early April, GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the antiviral medication Relenza, voluntarily issued a similar notification to physicians.

On March 27, the FDA went on to announce it was investigating a "possible association between the use of Singulair," a pill used to treat asthma and allergies, and changes in mood and behavior, including suicidal thinking and suicide attempts. That warning came after the FDA's adverse-event monitoring system saw an uptick in reports about patients taking Singulair experiencing symptoms of depression, including thoughts of self-destruction. Although this monitoring system relies on voluntary reports from patients and physicians and does not establish causal connections between a drug and a reported "event," it is a key early detector of untoward side effects once a drug enters wide use.

Reports to the FDA also prompted a warning to healthcare professionals on Feb. 1 about Chantix, an anti-smoking drug approved in May 2006. As the medication gained a foothold among U.S. smokers wishing to quit, patients began telling physicians and the FDA of peculiar behavior, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts and actions.

By January, the FDA had concluded "it appears increasingly likely that there may be an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms" and urged physicians to weigh that possibility when prescribing the drug, and to carefully monitor patients who take it.

One recent warning emerged not from spontaneous reports by patients and doctors, but from an internal FDA effort. Last year, after studies had shown an increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior among people taking certain drugs for epilepsy, the FDA conducted a broad review of clinical trials conducted on 11 anti-convulsive drugs.

The result was a Jan. 31 alert informing physicians of an established link between the 11 drugs and suicidal thinking and actions. As a group, patients taking any of the 11 medications were twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts and actions as those who took a dummy pill. The heightened risk of self-destructive symptoms was evident as early as one week into treatment and continued throughout the 24 weeks of study.

Mind-body connection

Though such reports of psychiatric side effects defy prediction, researchers said that growing understanding of the connection between mind and body should lead the way to better guesses at which drugs may unexpectedly darken a patient's mood, and why.

"With every passing day, we've learned so much that there's a strong connection" between physical and mental health, said Dr. Husseini Manji, director of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program at the National Institute of Mental Health. "When you're depressed, a lot of things in your body don't work well. But conversely, both medical illnesses and certain medications can markedly make you depressed."

Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (New Straits Times), April 14, 2008:

THE term "senior citizen" is unpleasant, especially to those who have retired. It implies that they are of little use to anyone. On the contrary, this group of people can still contribute much to the country. Non-governmental organisations say it is about time the continued involvement of retirees and pensioners in the human resources sector was looked into.

The Malaysian Employers' Federation says on average, one million Malaysians retire from the private sector annually.

Its executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, says if the number of retirees include those up to the age of 66, "that is quite a lot of resources available" in terms of manpower.

He says engaging senior citizens in the various economic sectors can also reduce the country's dependence on foreign labour.

"If they are still active, they will be useful to society and can contribute to the country's productivity."

Shamsuddin suggests a national policy on employment for the elderly, just like what Singapore has done.

Through the policy, the island republic saw its services sector, which was heavily staffed with foreign workers, gradually being filled with elderly citizens.

He also says the government should provide incentives to the private sector in the form of a tax break to encourage them to employ workers over the age of 56.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress general secretary G. Rajasekaran says it has been advocating for a later retirement age for quite some time.

"We have been calling for the retirement age to be pushed to 60," he says, adding that workers these days are generally quite healthy and can carry on working for many years.

"When you talk about the productivity of the country, it all comes down to your workers."

He says MTUC has received feedback that many senior citizens are willing to continue working.

However, Rajasekaran fears that senior citizens may be exploited when it comes to wages, benefits and working conditions.

National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia (Nacscom) president Datuk Dr Lum Kin Tuck agrees with Rajasekaran.

"Fifty-six years old is too young and it's a waste of the experience when they retire at that age," he says.

Nacscom is also advocating that 20 per cent of a company's workforce be made up of senior citizens.

Lum adds that the move will also reduce dependence on foreign workers.

Copyright © 2008 NST Online

SANTA CRUZE DE TENERIFE, Spain (Tenerife News), April 14, 2008:

The misery of arthritis

Osteoarthritis is such a painful and crippling disease that some people are literally spraying WD-40 onto their joints to ease the pain – and swear by the efficacy of the results!

The condition affects many people and is caused by the wear and tear of the cartilage tissue within the joints.

Most patients are treated with a class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs but these can have toxic effects on the stomach, triggering ulcers and a perforated stomach liming.

Small wonder, then, that sufferers are trying out all the folklore remedies, everything their grandmothers mentioned and other outlandish remedies in order to become pain-free.

The Arthritis research Campaign in the UK has stated that inflammatory arthritis is a serious condition that requires drugs that are scientifically proven to work, but here are some of the more offbeat solutions that have been found to work – some of them discovered by research facilities.

Nettles – this I have known personally to work; a gentleman afflicted with a bout of osteoarthritis, some thirty years ago flung himself into a bed of nettles – in my presence – in order to exchange one pain for another! After the initial stinging and itching had died down (helped by dock leaves rubbed all over his bare arms and legs), his arthritic pain had also abated and he continued to do the same thing when it returned, with good results.

Apparently Roman soldiers believed that stinging nettles could relieve joint pain and now science has proved them correct. The plant does contain serotonin and histamine, known to be involved in the perception of pain.

Leeches – can ease pain and inflammation of the knee. After tests on elderly patients, some of them were still pain-free four weeks later. Leeches have an anaesthetic chemical in their saliva.

Curry – turmeric contains a powerful ingredient, curcumin, which is thought to help both types of arthritis and seems to work by preventing a protein from being activated.

Chillies – the chemical that makes the chillies red hot is effective at treating pain from osteoarthritis. It is called capsaicin and is used in over-the-counter painkilling creams and gels; it is also being developed into a drug that can be injected straight into the joints, providing relief for up to three months. Capsaicin works by interrupting pain signals from the nerves that transmit information around the nervous system.

Green tea – already thought to help prevent heart disease and cancer, green tea could also aid stiff joints. One cup a day could be all that is needed.

Orange juice – one glass of freshly squeezed orange juice a day could significantly reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis- Orange and yellow fruits rich in vitamin C and an antioxidant called betacryptoxanthin seems to protect the joints against the damaging effects of inflammation.

Music – an experiment in Florida, USA reported that patients who listened to twenty minutes of music every day had arthritic pain levels reduced by two-thirds. Music is thought to stimulate the brain to release endomorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.

Snake venom – apparently snake venom and bee stings have pain relieving properties but the effects may be just short-term.

Rosehips – a rosehip remedy called Litozin was recently found to soothe pain and boost activity levels in a group of volunteer patients with arthritis; it is thought that the rosehips contain a fatty acid, GOPO, that benefits joints.

Ginger – a pill made from ginger is just as effective at easing joint pains as conventional painkilling drugs, according to a recent study. Trials in Miami, USA, showed that a highly concentrated supplement had the most potent effect.
Ruby Edition 347
Copyright 2005 Tenerife News Canary Wharf S.L.

CHICAGO (Chicago Tribune), April 14, 2008:

Older workers are more vulnerable to losing their jobs than younger ones when companies cut costs. They know this instinctively, even though the law of the land forbids age-related discrimination.

More experienced workers generally earn more than their younger counterparts. It's illegal to fire them based on their age, but courts long have ruled that cost-cutting is an acceptable reason for firing higher-paid employees, even when the cuts fall disproportionately on workers older than 40.

A proposed rule change by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission wouldn't change that fact, but it would tweak the rules in a way that worker advocates say is positive. It would also open the door to a debate about the reasons employers can offer to justify their actions. And it comes at a time when age-bias claims are soaring.

Barbara Rose/YOUR SPACE

The number of age-discrimination charges filed with the EEOC is up 21 percent compared with a decade ago, while total charges climbed less than three percent. The jump reflects changing demographics. The youngest of the Baby Boom generation entered their 40s during the decade, and older Boomers entered their peak earning years.

"When a company's looking to cut expenses, those who are most heavily compensated are most heavily at risk," said Chicago employment attorney Peter Steinmeyer.

Former EEOC Vice Chairman Paul Igasaki called this cost issue the "fault line" in age-discrimination cases, the divide where protection falls away.

If an employment decision falls disproportionately on minorities or women, for instance, an employer must be able to show it did not discriminate on the basis of race or sex but was forced to take action for a pressing business reason—a "business necessity." But in age-discrimination cases, employers need only cite "reasonable factors other than age." And cost generally is one.

Vulnerable ages
A study of more than 2,000 age-bias cases over a 15-year period in a large industrial state found older workers were most likely to experience discrimination when they approached 50, and again at 60 when they neared retirement. The Ohio State University study said the cases were rich with examples of qualified individuals who were laid off or forced into early retirement in a restructuring or downsizing. Many were long-term employees with good evaluations.

"Workers nearing 50 years old tend to be upwardly mobile middle managers that, particularly during harder economic times, tend to be seen as more expensive," said lead author and sociology professor Vincent J. Roscigno. "Employers start contemplating whether they can replace these fiftysomething workers with younger workers who may not expect as much.

"Discrimination faced by the sixtysomething crowd seemed to be related to cost-reduction strategies surrounding health care and pensions, which can be big savings over time. In the one group the employers were looking at costs here and now, and the other, strategizing about future costs."

Typical of the younger group was a 49-year-old service manager for a leasing company who, despite 17 years in management and repeated letters of recognition, was let go while a 35-year-old manager who had been with the company for one year was kept on. The company cited financial pressure in eliminating the older manager's job, saying the decision was based on the "best service manager at that particular time, as well as who would be the best in the future," the study reported.

Justifying actions
Employers used age stereotypes to justify their cost-saving strategies, Roscigno said. "The rationale we saw in the case material was wanting more 'flexible,' more 'motivated' workers. [Yet] some of these older workers were the ones who won awards. I don't know about more motivated workers, but I'm pretty sure they wanted cheaper workers."

The EEOC's proposed rule change would make employers bear the burden of proving that a decision was based on a reasonable factor other than age.

"Any time an employer is required to prove reasonableness it puts more of the onus on the employer and ultimately increases the cost of defending these cases," said Joel Rice of Fisher & Phillips in Chicago, who represents employers.

Advocates for older workers say that is where the burden belongs. "Requiring the victim to prove the employment practice was unreasonable was almost like proving a negative," said AARP senior attorney Laurie McCann.

The EEOC also invited comment about whether the agency should issue additional rules explaining what "reasonable" means.

"That aspect is one of the most important parts," McCann said. "AARP's position is, there should be a job-related aspect for it to be reasonable. The whole area of cost is very difficult. It's almost a knee-jerk reaction, when we need to cut costs that we'll eliminate our longer-service employees. We will certainly argue additional guidance is necessary."

berose@tribune.com
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune

BERLIN (Deutsche Welle), April 13, 2008:

When former German President Roman Herzog warned that the country's elderly was "plundering" its youth, readers wanted to know just how high his own pension is. Herzog is speaking from a comfortable position, said some readers

The following comments reflect the views of DW-WORLD.DE readers. Not all reader comments have been published. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.

At 74 years of age, Roman Herzog has answered a significant and underlying part of the problem. Since people generally live 10-15 years longer than they used to when 65 was struck as the retirement age, people simply have to work a few years longer to redress the imbalance. Maybe take a year off to re-skill. Many retirees are also very skilled and experienced people. -- Charles Smyth, Britain

Roman Herzog probably has enough money for retirement. I say if Germany wants to attract and keep talented people in Germany, it should provide for a good retirement. As the major economic powerhouse of Europe, Germany should provide for old codgers, or anyone with a brain will move to another country! -- Stan Balabuszko, US

Just tell me and all the other seniors what Mr. Herzog's income is. -- Horst K. Habicht, Canada

Someone should criticize a small increase for pensioners who have one of the highest pensions without having paid one cent in contributions. This again is one of the most arrogant hypocrites one could imagine. -- Henry L. Rose, US

Please pass on that if I was getting the same amount of euros as Mr. Herzog I would also feel that I was plundering the young. But I am not and I don't. There is no law that says he can't give some back to the young. -- Richard Kearney, Germany

Obviously, to be fair, the increase should not be across the board the same for everyone. Anyone who already has a high pension does not need any increase, and those on very minimal pensions need the increase to allow those people to live with the basic necessities of life. But, as in so many aspects of this "democratic" system, numbers count to get elected and so our politics is the politics of stupidity. -- Wilhelm Waldstein, Canada

Compiled by DW staff (kjb)
© 2008 Deutsche Welle